Friday, July 01, 2016

Top seeds KO'd at English women’s match play

Essex
golfers Georgina Backman and Sophie Madden toppled the top two seeds
today to take their place in the semi-finals of the English women’s open
match play championship at Holme Hall Golf Club in Lincolnshire.

They
are joined in the final four by Cloe Frankish of Kent, who won on the
19th after being three down with three to play, and by English-born Gemma Batty, who now lives at
Moffat in the Scottish Borders.Blackman
(Chelmsford) was first to move into semis when she defeated the top
qualifier and England international Sophie Lamb 5 and 3. Madden (West Essex)
quickly followed her, defeating number two seed India Clyburn (Woodhall
Spa), who carried Lincolnshire hopes of a local winner.Blackman,
(pictured top) signed off with a birdie on 15 and said afterwards: “I’m
very pleased, I wasn’t expecting that. I think I was so worried that
Sophie was going to beat me by lots that I turned my game on a bit!”The
20-year-old got ahead on the second and after winning seven, eight and
nine was four up at the turn. Lamb (Clitheroe) pulled two holes back
when she won 11 and 12, but the Essex player won another three in a row
to finish the match.Tomorrow
Blackman plays Cloe Frankish (Chart Hills), who pulled off an
impressive comeback today. The 17-year-old, who has been battling a
cold, went three-down in her quarter final when Chantelle Cassidy of New
Zealand holed her third shot on the 15th for an eagle.Frankish
battled back, getting back to all square with a run of par, par, birdie
and then followed up with a winning birdie four on the 19th. “I was
really pleased with myself,” she said. Tomorrow her plan is simple: “I
am just going to try and get birdies, try and win the holes.”In
the other half of the draw, Sophie Madden (pictured left) withstood a
late charge by Clyburn to win 1 up and take her place in the semis. “I
got to three up with five to play but lost two in a row,” said the
19-year-old, who has just completed her first year at university in
America. “But I came through in the end.”Madden,
who has another Essex player, Dulcie Sverdloff, on her bag, went on: “I
just went out with no pressure, played my game and tried to enjoy it.
It’s really nice to make the final day.”He
opponent is Gemma Batty, a Stirling student who recently won the
Slovenia international and is just back from the World University Games
where she came fifth. She had such a quick turn-around she didn’t have
time for a practice round.She
came through a low-scoring quarter-final against Lianna Bailey (Kirby
Muxloe), closing out her opponent 4 and 3. “I was three up through nine and
then we halved every hole in par until I birdied the 15th to win. We
both played very steady golf,” said Batty.